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Angel Dumott Schunard
Angel Dumott Schunard is one of the main characters in RENT, as well as one of the more - if not the most - controversial characters in the entire show. Some fans believe her to be a transgender woman, and some believe her to be a drag queen, while some even speculate that she is genderfluid. Angel uses both she/her and he/him pronouns throughout the show, although Mark once corrects himself to call Angel "she" instead of "he", but Angel self-describes as a "boy" in You'll See. She is HIV+, and becomes Collins' lover after discovering him, beaten up, on the street and taking him in. About Angel is a street drummer who we first meet through Tom Collins, who is found by Angel, robbed and beaten on the streetYou Okay Honey?. They discover that they both are HIV-positive and go to a Life Support meeting where they bond. She was earlier hired by a rich woman to kill her neighbors' dog, which she describes in Today 4 U. She and Mimi Marquez are known to have been friends before the rest of the characters met, but they grow closer throughout. During La Vie Boheme, we find out that the Akita which Angel killed, Evita, turns out to belong to Benjamin Coffin III (Benny), the ex-roommate of Collins, Mark Cohen, Roger Davis, and Maureen Johnson. Angel is described as being very caring, giving, and kind. During the second act of the show she succumbs to her diseaseContactI'll Cover You (Reprise) and in the movie while Mimi is singing ("Without You"), after having been ill for a while during the estrangements between Roger and Mimi, and Maureen and Joanne, Maureen's lover. Her funeral proves to be a pivotal point between the other two sets of lovers; Maureen and Joanne make up, while it only drives Roger and Mimi - who is accompanied to the funeral by Benny - further apart. Though Angel's presence in the show is generally comical -- as well as heartwarming -- it can be very touching and sentimental. Maureen claims that "(Angel) always said how lucky (she) was that we were all friends. But it was us, baby, who were the lucky ones." Portrayals Wilson Jermaine Heredia Wilson Jermaine Heredia portrayed Angel in the original production and the film version. He won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical in 1996 for his performance. He also went onto originate the role in the London production. Justin Johnson Justin Johnston portrayed Angel in the 2008 proshot "Rent: Filmed Live on Stage". Telly Leung Telly Leung portrayed Angel in the Hollywood Bowl version of Rent. David Merino David Merino portrayed Angel in the 20th-anniversary touring company of Rent. Luis Carlos Villarreal Carlos Villarreal Wuicka portrayed Angel in the Mexico production in 2016 Fin Bowen Fin Bowen portrayed Angel in The Playhouse Theater, Auckland, New Zealand in 2018 Valentina (James Andrew Leyva) Drag queen Valentina portrayed Angel in the live adaptation of Rent produced by Fox in 2019 Song List *Rent - full company *You Okay Honey? - with Collins(And Man in the Musical)* *Today 4 U - with Collins, Mark, & Roger *You'll See - with Benny, Mark, Roger, & Collins** *Life Support - Life Support Group *Another Day - Mimi, Roger, & full company *Will I? - Life Support Group *On The Street - full company* *Santa Fe - with Collins & Mark (& Roger in the film) *I'll Cover You - with Collins *Christmas Bells - with company* *La Vie Boheme A & B - full company *Seasons of Love - full company *Happy New Year - with Collins, Mark, Roger, Benny, Mimi, Joanne, & Maureen* *Happy New Year B - with Collins, Mark, Roger, Benny, Mimi, Joanne, & Maureen* *Seasons of Love B - full company *Contact - with Collins, Roger, Benny, Mimi, Joanne, & Maureen* *Finale B - full company (*=removed from film version; **=only sings in the stage version) References Category:Characters Category:Deceased characters